Just over two weeks ago, the world lost one hell of an actor: Paul Walker. He was most known for his role as the drool-worthy Brian O’Conner in the surprisingly successful Fast & the Furious franchise. But that was not where he started. Here’s a look at his movie history, along with some of their defining tunes.
Walker started his illustrious career in several teen drama movies. He had back up roles in Pleasantville, as slimy creeper Skip Martin; in Varsity Blues, as sympathetic cortisone-addicted high school football player Lance Harbor; in Skulls as father-fearing freshman Caleb Mandrake. His most memorable performance however was as douchebag Dean Sampson (ie the guy who bet Zack Siler he could not turn “freak” Laney Boggs into prom queen) in She’s All That. For every girl who wished all it took was a mini makeover by a non-professional to lock down the most popular jock in school, this track will forever be remembered as the song where all high school dreams came true:
After getting those parts out of his system, Walker landed the role of a lifetime: the lead alongside Vin Diesel in 2001’s The Fast & the Furious. This catapulted his career to front and center, instead of the habitual supporting areas. He had just the right amount of sexiness, manliness and grit to play an L.A. police officer/undercover drag racer. Not to mention gorgeous blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect stubble. The sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious came out two years later, with additional cast members Ludacris and Tyrese, and this unforgettable track:
From then on, Walker was seen as a true leading man, and starred in the severely underrated time travel flick Timeline; as well as the water-based thriller Into the Blue, with the beautiful Jessica Alba. It did not blow up the the box office, but it proved that Walker could carry a movie on his own, and was incapable of looking unattractive, especially in swim trunks. Plus it spawned this track:
After skipping The Fast & the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, (maybe he could not handle competing with other blonde actor Zachery Ty Bryan,) Walker eventually made it back to the series in 2009 for the fourth installment, aptly named: Fast and Furious. Reggaeton was all over the movie, this track being no exception:
Walker was also cast in Fast Five, and the most recently released Fast and Furious 6, with this gangster rap track:
Fast and Furious 7 is due out some time in 2014. Walker’s final goodbye in the franchise that made him THE Paul Walker. Hats off to an actor who will always have a little piece of our hearts. May he rest in peace.
Me vs. the Music 